Five Times Emma Looked at Regina
by brinshannara
Summary: Five short ficlets describing Emma's feelings and thoughts during certain key moments with Regina.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: First foray into SwanQueen/OUAT. I own nothing. Just what I think Emma was thinking during some key moments during the show.)**

 **The First Time**

"Please don't take me back there," Henry pleaded, as she released the latch and opened the gate to allow them to walk up the path to the mayor's house.

"I have to," she said, "I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you."

"I don't have parents," Henry retorted, "just a mom. And she's evil."

Emma stopped and rolled her eyes. "Evil? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" She was now facing Henry.

"She is," he said, looking down. "She doesn't love me. She only pretends to."

Something resonated inside her. Whether it was because he was actually her own child, of which she still wasn't wholly convinced, or because she'd seen so much as a foster child, she wasn't sure. Either way, she felt she had to reassure the boy.

"Kid," she sighed, bending down to his level, "I'm sure that's not true."

As if on cue, the door to the mansion opened. "Henry?" called a woman's voice.

Emma turned.

The woman was slender, with dark hair and dark eyes. Her grey dress was conservative, but stylish. It covered her shoulders, but left her arms bare.

She ran towards Emma and Henry, virtually ignoring Emma entirely.

"Oh, Henry!" she called as she ran, eyes shining with unshed tears.

She embraced him tightly, as any mother who had been worried about her child would. "Oh," she said, "are you okay?" She held him at arms' length, not giving him the chance to answer. "Where have you been?" she demanded.

The dark-haired woman stood straighter, now addressing Emma, looking at her, dark brown eyes meeting Emma's for a fleeting moment as she asked what had happened.

"I found my REAL mom!" Henry blurted and took off, running into the house.

Emma hadn't stopped staring at the woman, the woman who flinched when Henry had referred to Emma as his "real mom". She could tell at once that his words had pierced whatever armor this woman usually wore. He was her weakness. Regardless of anything else, she was certain that the woman who stood before her truly loved Henry.

The dark-haired woman took a steadying breath and returned her gaze to her, eyes watery.

"You're... You're Henry's birth mother?" she asked, with some measure of confusion in her voice. She had clearly not been expecting that bit of news.

"Hi," Emma responded, meekly.

A man, whom Emma had barely noticed to this point, said, in his British accent, that he'd go check on the boy. He turned and re-entered the house, leaving Emma and Henry's mother alone on the walkway.

The dark-haired woman let her eyes wander down Emma's body and back up. Their eyes met again.

"How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you ever tasted?" the mayor asked, a slow smile creeping across her face.

Emma was intrigued. "Got anything stronger?" she asked, honestly.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Apple Tree**

Emma hefted the chainsaw and, with no small amount of satisfaction, cleanly sliced off a rather large branch from the tree. She turned to look up at the house as, no doubt, the chainsaw had drawn the attention of a certain mayor, which was, of course, the entire point of the exercise. She saw the dark-haired woman in a window for a moment, before she vanished. Emma smiled, knowing precisely what would happen next.

Sure enough, not a minute later, Regina was striding angrily across the backyard, eyes blazing, body tense, ready for a fight.

Emma was ready. She revved the chainsaw's motor for no reason other than to prove to the other woman, mayor or not, that she was in control of this situation.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

"Picking apples," Emma replied, insolently. She tossed the chainsaw to the ground behind her, having made her point.

"You're out of your mind!" growled Regina, getting right into Emma's personal space. Emma found she enjoyed being this close to the mayor. It was clear that Regina was used to getting her way. Little did she realize that Emma had decided that she wasn't about to let that trend continue.

"No," Emma responded, "you are, if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare me off. You're gonna have to do better than that."

Regina narrowed her eyes, but Emma continued, holding the other woman's gaze. "You come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what _I'm_ capable of," she said, throwing Regina's words back at her.

There was a moment of silence, as the two women stared at each other. The mayor's eyes flicked across Emma's body before locking with Emma's once more. A smirk appeared on Regina's lips for a moment. The tension between them was thick, heavy.

Emma smirked right back and, despite enjoying the energy arcing between them, walked away. "Your move," she said, filled with confidence. Not only did she know, deep in her bones, that she could go toe-to-toe with Regina and win, but she also knew it would be one hell of a lot of fun fighting with her. Her smirk remained intact the entire way back to her car.


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: Third of five planned ficlets. If you have any favourite SwanQueen moments, please share and I might do another round of five. Feedback is awesome, either way.)**

 **Welcome Back**

With more than a little bit of effort, Emma clambered up and pulled herself out of the well, followed shortly by Mary Margaret.

"Mom?" came a small voice.

Emma turned. "Henry!" she cried.

"Mom!" he shouted and ran for her.

Emma was nearly bowled over by the boy as he embraced her tightly.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, holding on to him for dear life. "I missed you!" Her eyes were squeezed shut. This was a moment of pure joy. It was what she had focused on throughout her entire time in the other realm. It was what had gotten her through everything. And it was happening, right now. She gave herself completely to the moment.

"I missed you too!"

"I missed you so much."

She was aware that Mary Margaret joined in the hug eventually, but all she could really feel was her son, safe in her arms. She was home.

It was Mary Margaret who broke away first and realized something wasn't quite right at the well. Emma finally opened her eyes. Gold was there, she realized, as was Regina. And over there, was that Ruby, lying prone on the ground?

"What's going on?" asked Mary Margaret. "What happened?"

Henry pulled back and beamed. "She _saved_ you," he said, proudly. "She saved _both_ of you." The kid could not have been more proud of Regina.

Regina.

The mayor picked herself up off the ground and brushed herself off, attempting to regain some semblance of decorum.

Emma stared at the dark-haired woman. "Thank you," she said, quite simply, as Henry threw his arms back around her.

"You're welcome," Regina replied, with a scowl. She didn't look entirely pleased at how Henry was clinging to Emma.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked, running up to them. Ruby and Mary Margaret embraced and, of course, Mary Margaret's next thought was of David. Ruby led her off to find him. Emma thought about following, for a moment, but then turned back to face Regina.

Clad in a dark raincoat with a royal blue shirt and dark slacks, she looked majestic, even as she attempted to catch her breath while leaning against a nearby tree. Emma took a few steps towards the mayor, Henry never leaving her side.

"Um," she began.

Regina looked up and turned to face her.

"Your mom," she continued, "she's uh..." She trailed off for a moment, distracted by the expression on Regina's face. "She's... a piece of work. You know?"

Regina smirked and leaned back against the tree. "Indeed I do," she responded in a way that made Emma understand what she'd dealt with growing up with Cora as a mother. Emma was contemplating that very thought when the most amazing thing of all happened, catching Emma completely off-guard.

The former Evil Queen turned to face Emma and, looking her right in the eye, said, in a half-whisper, "Welcome back." And she smiled. She actually smiled. At Emma.

Emma's eyes welled up with tears immediately. "Thanks," she managed to whisper. She hugged her son tightly to her, but didn't break eye contact with the mayor. Something passed between them in that moment, something that wasn't magic, exactly, but was just as inexplicable.


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N: Four down, one to go. Let me know what your favourite SwanQueen scene is!)**

 **Where There's Smoke**

 _This is stupid_ , Emma thought to herself, a frown on her face. She was standing, arms crossed over her chest, staring intently at the campfire. Or what _would_ be the campfire, if she could only light the damn thing.

"Focus," the other woman's voice said. Emma stole a glance towards her parents and glared before returning her gaze to the fire.

The mayor, frustrated, stood. "Concentrate!" she demanded.

"It's kind of hard when you're talking in my ear!" snapped Emma, irritated at being interrupted, yet again.

" _And_ when the wind blows _or_ it's raining," Regina retorted, walking over to Emma's other side. "Or... someone's shooting arrows at you."

Emma seethed quietly. Regina had a point. Using magic, particularly here and now, wasn't going to be under good conditions. But Regina had actually _had_ instruction in magic. In more controlled circumstances. Shouldn't Emma get a pass for having lived her life in a world without magic? Something about all of this seemed terribly unfair.

Regina paced back to Emma's right side. "Yes," she continued, "concentration's _hard_. That's the point."

The blonde kept her eyes on the would-be fire, trying to light it out of pure will.

Regina paused, trying another tack. "Find your anger," she said, "and use it to _focus_."

Emma bristled. "No," she stated, flatly, rejecting the suggestion immediately. "There has to be a way without going dark."

The mayor threw up her arms. "You're such a pathetic waste of ability!" she said, turning away.

"And you're a monster," Emma called out. It was low, it was petty, but damn, did it feel good. That got Regina's attention. The dark-haired woman turned back to face her. Emma prepared herself for another jab, another insult, but instead, Regina just paused and sniffed the air.

"Smell that?" she asked, approaching Emma.

"What?" she spat, caught off-guard. She _hated_ being caught off-guard.

"Smoke," Regina said simply, pointing to the now-lit campfire. She smirked and walked off.

Emma frowned, turned and looked. She raised her eyebrow, momentarily pleased with herself for lighting it in the end. Then she scowled. Regina had been right. Again.


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N: Last one for this time. Share your favourite SwanQueen moments with me and I'll do another set! Thanks for your support and feedback!)**

 **The Last Time**

"The Dark One," Hook explained, "it's no longer tethered to the crocodile."

"What?" demanded Regina. "Where the hell is it?!"

Emma almost chuckled at the mayor's tone. It was incredulous, almost as though she were blaming them. The moment of levity passed quickly, though, as Emma suddenly realized what was happening. Her eyes went wide. "It hasn't gone anywhere," she said, turning, her gaze trying to discern darkness from, well, darkness. "The darkness, it's surrounding us."

Emma turned to look behind them and then she heard it; Regina gasped. Emma turned just a second too late.

She saw the dark tendrils surround Regina almost instantly. Instinctively, Emma reached out for her, but the mayor was dragged several feet away from the rest of them.

"Regina!" cried Robin.

Emma watched in horror as Regina tried to step out of the churning vortex, only to be blocked by the tendrils. She was trapped.

"I..." Emma whispered, looking at her hand. _This is my fault,_ she thought to herself.

"What's it doing?" demanded Robin, panic evident in his voice.

"What darkness does," Emma said, "snuffing out the light." She stared at the vortex in front of her, seeing Regina's face contorting. She was in pain.

"Well, I'm not gonna let it," Robin said and took off running towards her, only to bounce right off the swirling tendrils.

"That's not going to work on this thing!" Emma yelled at him as he got up off the street. _No,_ she thought to herself. _There's only one thing that will work._

She barely heard herself explaining it to the others, over the wind and crackling electricity, but she knew she had been clear. The darkness had to be tethered to a person and there was no way that she was going to let Regina be that person.

Even if it meant her own sacrifice.

She strode purposefully towards the vortex.

"Emma!" screamed Regina, stopping the blonde in her tracks. "No!"

Emma took another step.

"There has to be another way!" cried the dark-haired woman.

"There isn't," Emma responded, keeping eye contact with Regina as best she could. "You've worked too hard to have your happiness destroyed," she said, her voice rough with emotion.

*I won't let her lose everything,* she thought to herself. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to take on the darkness herself.

"No!" cried David.

Frustrated, she turned to face her parents. "You figured out how to take the darkness out of me once. You need to do it again," she implored them. "As heroes."

She turned back and prepared, once again, to take the darkness from Regina, to save the woman who had been her nemesis, her mentor, her co-parent and, finally, her friend.

"Emma!" called Hook, running up to her, "Emma, please!" He looked into her eyes. "No," he said, "don't do this."

Eyes watering, Emma finally summoned the courage to tell the pirate she loved him. She stepped towards him and then shoved him backwards. It was time and she wasn't going to let anyone else interfere.

She turned to face the vortex once more and flung her left arm, the one holding the Dark One's dagger, into the swirling black mass of tendrils.

The darkness happily fled from Regina and slowly engulfed Emma. It coiled and slithered along Emma's arm, shifting and sliding across her body. She couldn't help but groan at the pain the darkness brought.

Whether it was hours later or just moments later, Emma felt the darkness had almost fully taken hold of her. With her last ounce of strength, Emma turned to face her parents, Hook, Robin and Regina. She gazed at Regina, now in Robin's arms, where she belonged. She had saved her. Regina was safe. She would be happy. That was the important thing.

Satisfied, she let the darkness fully engulf her.


End file.
